Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) – a member of Qatar Foundation (QF) – has announced the winners of its 24th Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) cycle, QNRF’s flagship program, co-funded by Qatar Shell, designed to develop research infrastructure in Qatar by establishing the basis of scientific research at undergraduate level.

In the 24th cycle, UREP grants were awarded to 54 proposals from student teams across several universities within Qatar, out of the 136 peer reviewed proposals. Of the 54 awards, 37 went to Qatar University, while 15 were awarded to teams at QF partner universities – seven to Texas A&M University at Qatar, three to Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, three to Georgetown University in Qatar, and two to Northwestern University in Qatar. The two remaining awards were awarded to the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar and the University of Calgary-Qatar.

The winning proposals address the various pillars of the Qatar National Research Strategy, with 20 awards in Energy and Environment; 18 in Biomedical and Health; nine in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; and seven in Computer Sciences and ICT.

Dr. Abdul Sattar Al-Taie, Executive Director, QNRF, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Qatar Shell as sponsor of UREP, following an agreement signed between QF and Qatar Shell last year with the aim of facilitating access to Qatar Shell’s expert knowledge and mentorship as a valuable resource for the undergraduate community in Qatar. “UREP aims to build research capacity locally in the country and to foster a self-sustainable, innovative ecosystem, are well-aligned with that of Qatar Shell. I am confident that our partnership and collective efforts will advance those goals and deliver exceptional outcomes to benefit our most promising undergraduate students.”

Launched in 2006, UREP is QNRF’s longest running program and is designed to develop the research human capital and research infrastructure in Qatar by establishing the basis of scientific research at the undergraduate level. To date, more than 3,800 undergraduate students have benefited from the UREP grants and produced insightful research while working under the mentorship and guidance of their professors.

Hussain Al Hijji, Vice President, Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre, said: “We are proud to support UREP this year. It is an exemplary program that has been executed efficiently by QNRF for more than a decade. I am very happy that our partnership with QNRF has further increased interest in the program as evident by the number of applications received. We look forward to providing our technical expertise where applicable and sharing our R&D facilities. Qatar Shell is committed to fueling innovation into Qatar’s energy ecosystem by providing more and cleaner energy solutions to support the energy transition.”